More on the Books

I’m glad Andy posted links to those two books. I have had copies of both of them for more than a month now and have intended to post reviews here. (Things have been a little busy in our nation’s capital, though.)

I am pretty strict about my reviews: I won’t write up a book unless I’ve read every word. It might surprise some of you to learn that this is the exception, and not the rule, of book reviews — at least in my experience. And as the author of two books, I know how frustrating it is when someone misstates your case or mischaracterizes your narrative — even if the reviews are positive.

So I’ve been working my way through both books and will post something more when I’m done. But I will say that I wholeheartedly endorse Andy’s sense that they’ll make good Christmas gifts. Buy a couple copies of each and tell your friends, too.

One Response to “More on the Books”

Thanks, Stephen. Looking forward to your take – whatever the verdict. I can handle the truth! I’ve penned close to 40 book reviews myself over the years (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel), and also spent 10 years in book publishing, and did come to learn that some reviewers only partially engage (skimming or reading selected portions) before reviewing. And sometimes it’s really obvious (you know the kind). With this book, I’ve already endured a blogger who stitched together a “review” by modifying (barely) sentences from the jacketcopy and published reviews. Not sure if he read the whole book or not. If anyone’s interested in seeing some of the review coverage, check out the book’s Amazon page. Rick Gosselin, a football writer of 20-plus years at the Dallas Morning News, gave the book a letter grade; it’s included in the Amazon clips. The one thing the Amazon entry doesn’t include is the photographic angle – 34 color photos, including Jordy, Atari, Colledge, Poppinga, Greg Jennings and others on bikes at training camp. I was really pleased when my publisher committed to color photos – a 16-page insert of them. That added some distinction, not to mention gifty-ness.